Retarding device for alarm check valves



Jan. 12 1926,

E. E. CLARK RETARDING DEVICE FOR ALARM CHECK VALVES Filed sept. 24,1912s mm@ om m.

lnvenT'oT. Egro E. QmfK bywf A'ys.

device 'Whichl is alarm i l prises l alarm valve so has to K PatentedJan; 12h/1926i..

tsaar y f "mannerisms, orvNEwToNvrLLE,jivrAssAcHusETrs.

" nEirAamN'e DEVICE son ALARM cHEoxivALvns,

f e applicationnieavseptemher 21;,"1923 serial No. ks645412.

, -Bea khowh righi E. CLARK, a'

that I,

` citizen of the United States;y and resident of Newtonvilld `-county ofo Middlesex, Massachusetts, have invented an mentv in Ret-arding Devicesfor AlarmCheck Valves, of @which the following description,`

.samer in 'connection with the accompanying draw]- ing, lis a;specificationzxlike characters on 'the drawing representing likeI'Jarts.`

l lhisflnvention `relates to Mv'alarm `check valvessuc'h as are used in.sprinkler systems and "particularlylto a retarding device for retardingthe opening 'movement of the preclude the possibility of the alarm valveopening whenthe main check valve lifts slightlydue to a temporary watersurge for ,valveAf` l K Onefeature ofthe invention relates to an 4valveoperative idevice whichl com?" i "able wall,`one side'of which issubjected at all times to the 'pressure on the delivery sidefof theCheck valve and the other side of i whichfis subjected "at all times tothe pres? sure on the. inletside of the check valve.` This expansiblechamber o with .its `movable .wall may i be in the form of abellows-likev subjected interiorly to the Apressure on one "side,fofftheV main check valve andfis subjected exteriorly to the pres! ,y

i sure on thedelivery side of said check valve.

Thebellows-like device has associated with it "a retarding devicewhichvretards the operi ati've` movementthereof andI which isl so tconstructed that the alarmjval've kwillnot be open? until the"difference in pressure on opposit'e sides of the'main check valve hasbeen maintained fora predetermined length of time." f t Inforder to givean understanding yof the invention I "have illustrated the drawings aselected embodiment thereof which will g nowfb'egdescribed after whichthe novel feai tures*vvillbe;V pointed outin 'the appended t claims.

- invention;

' auxiliarychecl valve inopen position.` n'

section a `situated Vin-'thesupply u v system', andis provided avlthwater-way Inthe drawings ,lig.` l shows in vvertical Fig. 2 iis' afragmentary View showing the l indicatesa Aehec'l valve casing which islmprove- Y I, a valve adaptedtc l porte. Thischeck valve ispivotallycon-`- v formed on they casing. y l to a momentary difference in cpressure between the two sidesofjthe checkty an expansible chamberhaving a mov the inletside to the the n end of the projection 12.

to be lifted from its seat. l l n 1 1 l lVhen the temporary ywater surge`has pipe `of'a sprinkler 1 l ymodated by the' weighted check valve 3,allgas .usualjin` devices of' this sort. The checlrvalveg-is pivotally`mounted atieV andi seatsuponfa valve seat 5. y

y rEhe,checlrvalve a port 6 therethrough is herein as l which iscontrolled lby.

an auxiliary check valve Shaving asteni extended through i said 4portiand providedfat its lower end with a headi? in the formof close thelowerend of the nected to a ,lever 9 which "in Iturn is. pivoted to theIna-in lever co-operating valveat v10, theend 11 ofthe `with a stop projection.y "l2 l `Vlhen the main valve l sure `conditions are normalwithinthef valve casing l `the valve v8 will `be situated slightly`above the stop shoulderljQ as shown in Figgl. If;forany@` reason,` thereis an increase `of pressure on the inlet side of thevalvedue, tofwater ecause the valve 8-will il be lifted from its-seat',`asshown inFig. 2, c

thus "allowing a smalliiow oflwater'froni delivery side ofthe 'main the4valveport 6a lhe open i ofthe valve. 8. islimited by surge or someother valve through ing movement N lever `l1 engagingm the* stop Theopening of theI auxiliary valve 8 allows a lsmall.fiiovv of water.through the "main check extending beyond the main valveand4 n K l willfbe closedtolits seatbygravity and the end 111,1 ofthe lever;`

Y 90 h valve, which willfbe sui -Vj y `cient to compensate `,for suchVte llporafy, l water' surges as ordlnari'lyoccur and thus withthisinvention'such temporaryfwater surges do not cause themain checkv valve`3 ceased and the pressure onlboth sides of the n main check has beensufficient' proportions'so that vthe waterlflovv cannot beaccommodatedby theportthen y theinain check valve `will be liftedand asit lifts from its seat the valve `will auto of the port (3` maticallyclose thief-lowerv end equaliaed,` 'the ai'urilia'ry valve 8 will closejthuslpreventinga "reversek flow. Ifthe temporarywater surge vis of n`thus compelling, allfthe water` to.V pass through the opening` ycaused3 will; therefore` remain closed until 1theflojw check valve will opento a point which is at least sufficient to accommodate the amount ofwater which could flow through the bypass port 6.

The advantage of this construction is that it ensures that the minimumamount which the main check valve 3 will open, will be such as to permita sufficient flow of water over the valve seat tokeep the latter freefrom sediment or foreign matter which might collect thereon if the checkvalve was allowed to merely crack open slightly by a temporary watersurge.

My improved retarding device comprises an expansible member having amovable wall which is at all times subjected on one sfide toltlfepressure on the inlet/side of the cheer: valve 3 and on the other sideto the pressure onthe deliveryT side of said check valve so that adifference in the pressures at the inlet and delivery sides of the checkvalve will reduce a difference in pressure on opposite sides of saidmovable wall to cause an ex- 'pansion or contraction of the expansiblechamber.

Connections are provided for opening the alarm valve by the expansiblemovement of the eXpansible chamber and means are also provided forretarding the alarm-valveopening movement of the expansible chamber sothat tlie alarm will not be opened until the difference in pressure onopposite sides of the main check valve has continued for a predeterminedlength of time.

Associated with the valve casing 1 is anotherA casing 13 having twochambers 14 and 15 therein. The chamber 14 communicates with vthewater-way on the delivery side of the check valve 3 through a duct orpassage 16 and the chamber 15 communicates with the water-way on theinlet side of said check valve through a duct or passage 17.

Each of the passages 16 and 17 is provided with a strainer 50, thepurpose of said strainers being to prevent any dirt or foreign substancefrom entering` the chambers 14 and 15.

The ex aansible` chamber` to which reference has been made is hereinshown as a bellows-like device 18 which is situated in the chamber 14and one end of which is secured to the partition 19 dividing saidchambers. This partition has an opening 2O therein which communicateswith the interior of the bellows-like device 1S so that the head or wall21 thereof is subjected on its upper side to the pressure inthe chamber14 and on its lower side to the pressure in the chamber 15.

The chamber 15 has a port 22 leading therefrom which communicates with apipe 23.1eading tothe alarm mechanism. This port22 is normally closed byan alarm valve Vindicated:generally at 24. I will preferably use forthis purpose a Inearly balanced valve, that herein shown comprising ahollowvalve stern 25. having two valve members 26 and 27. thereon. thevalve 26 seating on a valve seat 28 and the va'lve 27 seating on a valveseat 29. rThe valve member 27 is enclosed in a chamber il() whichvcommunicates with the port 22 through the bore formed in the valve stem25. With this arrangement the pressure against the valve 26. tendingr tohold it to its seat.` will be nearly counter-balanced by the pressureagainst the valve 27 tending to open it. thus producing a nearlybalanced valve which can be easily opened by a slight efvcess ofpressure in the chamber l5.

This alarm valve is connected to thc head 2l of the bellows-likearrangement by suitable means which are arranged so' that when thebellows expands by reason of a reduction of pressure in the chamber 1lon the. delivery side of the check valve. .said alarm valve will beopened.

For this purpose l have provided a lever 31 which pivo'tcd at 32 and isconnected at il?) to the valve stem 25, the free cud of the lever 554-bein;r forked and embracingl a stein or rod 35 which secured to anddepends from the head 21. 'lhis rod is provided with a pin 86 arrangedto engage the forked end of the lever when the head 21 is raised,thereby raising the lever 231 and opening the alarm valve. lt isimportant that the alarm valve should not be opened by a pressuredili'ercnce of short duration in the chambers land l5 such as wouldresult Jfrom water hammer or a surging movement of the water in thesupply for otherwise a false alarm might pipe, be `gaven. Vv'heu asprinkler head gives wav and there is necessity for an alarm there willbe a continued pressure difference in the chambeiv. l-.L and l5. and theaplmratusy hercin shown is designed to diiierentiate between a presruredifference of short duration and one of long duration.

The pin 3G is shown as situated some distance below the lforlred end 3lof the lever 31 when the parts are in the normal position shown in thedrawing, and therefore, the initial upward movement of the head 21 willnot actuate the lever '51, but, on the other hand, said lever will onlyhe actuated to open the alarm valve when the head 21 has an upwardmovement of a greater extent than that necessary lo bring the pin 36against the forked end ill of the lever ill..

A retarding device, is employed to retard the upward moveu'ient of thehead 21, thereby lo insure that said head will not have its fulloperative movement. unless the pressure ditl'ereure in the chambers leland 15 continues for a predetermined time interval.

yThe stem li is shown as having' rack teeth 37 which mesh with a rear 3SIiournalled on u shaft il?) that extendl transversely of t-he casing 13.The racl: is held in engagement with the gear by a guide roller l() thaten- Qll gages the baclrface of the. stem. Thewgear 38 haslrigidtherewithagear sector 41 which is connected throughagear.trainlto a reltardingl paddle -42that is mounted on `'ashaft 43.' l.This gear'traln isa speedsincreasing one and 1t comprises asmall` gear meshing with the'gear segment 41, whlchsmall gear isv connected to a; larger gear 45.thatfin turn l meshes with a smallergear .fierigidiwah the rtarding tan42. ,The gears 44 .and-.45alre connected .I bya and ratchet mechanismk icomprising a sprlngfpressedfpawl l47 'pivoted l onthe gear 45 .and aratchet 48rigid with. .the gear 44. f This construction is such, thatamoveinent of the `gear segment inthe 4direction of thearrow, whichwillbe vthemove-` mentjgivenfto it,by;the V'upward movement of Athe lhead21, Vwill. ,operatethrough the. gear 'f `train to rotateQthe, paddle 42,butareverse` movement ,of tliegear sector `41 may be .l acico'inplishedwithout'rotatingthe paddle,

becaiise of the. p'awlandl` ratchet connection. l The geai` sector 41 isprovidedy with a `weight; 49 which facts'to counterbalance the head}"2ll`and stem. 35,`the`reby providing such l a constructien that i arelatively small decrease .in pressure'inthe` chamber 14]will A,raisethefhad1'21 andstem 35.

.The check valve isfshown as a'weighted.

valve., ity being provided with.. a chamber illed with leadL 51 andthelvalve'seat .there-l` fortis' arranged at afsligllt inclination seasl topermitja relatively rapidjopening oli' the valve, thus reducingthciirictioniloss `as the valve"opens.A

. 'i The operation 4of the device islas follows f.Under-normaliconditions when all the ,-lfsnfiilkler hea-ds .fairegeleerd...the#trashed` X check 5 valve` '3v is closed, l,the `auxiliarycheck valve is alsoclosethgthe exp chamber or bellows-like device iseo'ntractedz and the wall.21 .thereofrf wat its lowest position l andthealarmyalv is closed, allas shown in Fig. 1. Under these conditions theremay be an equilibrium of `pressures above and i below'the .checlrvalve 3or there may be an f excess pressureab'ove said valve, due tewaterhaving been forced through the by-pass port 6 during a temporarywaterfsurge. If a sprinkler headopens or there is a flow of water fromthe system beyonda predetermined amount and `maintained vfor a prede-ktermined length of timethe main valve 3 Y willbe opened and the pressureinthe chamber 14 willbe reduced below/that in the chamber 15. kThisliliference in pressure will cause vthe wally21 of theexpansible chamberVto risesuch rising movementbeing lever and opening the alarm valve.

l opening lof thealarm valve allowswalter to retardedby the paddle `4.2.It the difference in pressure is maintainedV for a'sufiicient `lengtlroftime the wall 21 will rise `sulii` ciently to `bring the pin 36 againstthe forked end of the ylever 3 1 thereby lifting said The 'that thereisno `waste` ofl-waterbecause `no vvalve .operated i flowthrough `a-pipe`23 toithe alarm mech-` anism .therebyto `'sound'thealafrm.

If, however, lthe iiowof water past the checlr valve continuesforaflesstime than the ypredeterminedv period, which isgthat re- `quiredorthe wall 21 `to -risejsuficiently to operate the yalarm valve, saidhead will have 4failed duringthis lesserftime to .rise high enough toHoperate the alarm valve and, theretore. no alarm will be given. i

. W'ithmydevice,.therefore, thealarmvalve will. not' bel operatedunlessthe lowof water i past jlie clieclrivalve is` more JXamouint than can beAaccommoeilated through the port @and isniaintained ior a Lsiniicien'tlength of, time vtoperm/it"the `wall. :21 to rise to its` full extent.The dev-ice,therefore, willK4 so',y

di'lierentiate between `tenueorary pressure difference due to watersurge and a contin ued pressure ditference due 5to-the giving way cfasprinkler head. lFalsealarms are thusavoided. l r Another advantage: of:my construction. kis

x .l alanm valve opens-andthe alarm' f' .described ,myxiinventi,on,n/:Iy

1. AIn analarm-valve rnechanism,;.the-com-V f bination witha water-wayhavingia 1check valve therein, of abellows-like device 'which 4 is atallitimessubjectedon its exterior to` the-pressure on the deliverysiderovthe sure on fthe inlet` sidewof therheckvalve,

.whereby said bellows `will be extended when a `reduction `of .pressureoccurson the `delivery side, means to retard the expand-ing of saidbellows.V l

2. In an alarm valve mechanism, the combination with a water-Way havinga check movement lofthe` bellows, aiidjan .alarm i p bythe.expandingmovement valve therein, of a bellows-like device which r is atall times subjected on "its exterior .to

the pressure `on the delivery side of the check valve andon its interiortoV the pressure on the inlet side of the check valve, whereby saidbellows will be extended when a reduction of pressure occurs on 'thedelivery side, means to retard the expanding movement of the bellows, analarm valve, 1 i

and means to operate it at a predetermined bellows.

point in the expanding `movement ofv the 3. In an alarm valve mechanism,the com` bination with a water-way having a checlr valve therein, kof abellows-like device sub! jected on one side to the pressure on thedelivery side of the check valve and on the.. 1 l

or' the check valve' whereby said bellows devicewill be expandedwhen thepressure `other side to the pressureon the inlet side y l i i l0().check-,valveand `on itsiinteriorto the-pres- V on the deliverjT side ofthe check valve falls below that on the otherside, an alarm valveoperated by movement ot said device, and means to retard the movement otsaid device in one direction while permitting tree, movement thereoiE inthe other direction.

l. In an alarm valve mechanism, the combination with a water-way havinga check valve therein,` ot' an expansible chamber having a movable wallat all times subjected on one side to the pressure on the delivery sideor' the check valve and on the other side to the pressure on the inletside of the check valve whereby said wall will be moved by pressuredili'erence on opposite sides oi: the check valve, an alarm valve openedby movement ol said movable wall, and means to delay the openingmovement ot' the alarm valve until said pressure diiierence has existedfor a predetermined length of' time.

In a device of the class described, the combination with a water-wayhaving a check valve therein, of two chambers, one communicating withthe water-way on the delivery side of the check valve and the othercommunicating with the water-way on the inlet side of said check valve,a bellows-like device subjected on one side to the pressure in onechamber and on the other side to the pressure in the other chamber, analarm valve actuated by said device when a sultcient pressure differenceexists between said chambers, and means to delay the opening movement ofthe alarm valve until said pressure ditferenee has existed ior apredetermined length et time.

In a device of t-hc class described, the combination with a water-wayhaving a check valve therein, of two chambers, one communicating withthe water-way on the delivery side of the check valve and the othercommunicating with the waterway on the inlet side of said cheek valve. abellows-like device subjected on one side to the pressure in one chamberand on the other side to the pressure in the other chamber. an alarmvalve actuated by said device. and means to retard the .*alve-ojwningmovement ot said device.

T. ln an alarm valve mechanism, the combination with a water-way havinga check valve therein, ot an expansible bellows which is at all timessubjected exteriorly to the pressure on the delivery side ot' the checkvalve and interiorly to the pressure ou the inlet side ot said checkvalve, whereby said bellows will be extended when there is a reductionoit' pressure on the delivery side ot the check valve, an alarm valveoperated b v the expanding movement of said bellows, and means to delaythe opening movement ot the alarm valve until the reduction in pressurewhich caused the expansion of the bellows has existed for apredetermined length of time.

ln an alarm valve mechanism, the combination with a water-way having acheck 'alve therein, ot an expansible bellows which is at all timessubjected on one side to the pressure on the delivery side of the checkvalve and on the other side to the pressure on the inlet side of saidcheck valve, whereby said bellows will be operated by a difference inpressure on the opposite sides ot' said check valve, an alarm valveopened by the movement of said bellows, and means to delay the openingmovement of said alarm valve until the pressure difference betweenopposite sides of the check valve has existed for a predetermined lengthof time.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EZRA E. CLARK.

